


Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets: Slytherin Style ON HIATUS

by BeccaBluejay



Series: Harry Potter: Slytherin Style [2]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Book 2: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Canon Rewrite, Work In Progress
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-01
Updated: 2020-09-24
Packaged: 2021-03-06 16:21:13
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,461
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26231839
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BeccaBluejay/pseuds/BeccaBluejay
Summary: Harry is back at Hogwarts but things seem to be going very, very awry. After his first year all he wants to do is his schoolwork and hang out with his friends but it seems that someone has other ideas....On hiatus guys sorry.
Series: Harry Potter: Slytherin Style [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1794646
Comments: 21
Kudos: 57





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! Welcome back one and all, whoever is back lol. Just a quick hello for now, I'll say more in the end note but for now, onto the chapter!

The summer of 1992 was a miserable one in Britain. It was a never-ending spell of rainstorms, thunderstorms, and all-round terrible weather, with sparse dry days in between. Sunshine was there, but fleeting and grey. It was dull, wet, and gloomy.

It was a perfect representation of how Harry Potter started his summer.

He had started out excited for the months to come. Living in Severus’ country home with no bullying cousin and uncle and no hateful, spiteful aunt was a vast improvement to his earlier summers. Severus had even brought him to Diagon Alley and presented him with Hedwig as an end of year gift.

Hedwig was a beautiful snowy owl with gorgeous amber eyes and stunning grey spots in her magnificent feathers. Harry had called her Hedwig because he had seen the name in Hogwarts: A History. 

Don’t ask him who it was though, he had no clue.

The rocky start to his summer took up most of  the month of June and it all began with letters.  Harry had sent letter s off to all his friends the first week off school but when Hedwig had returned to him, she had no replies clutched in her talons.

It had confused  him but Harry had brushed it aside easily and waited for replies that never came. He sent off more letters that were also  ignored. Again, and again, his letters were ignored until it got to be that he  didn’t send any more and his friends’ radio silence  warped his memories.

He grew to believe that he had misinterpreted everyone, and they  weren’t really his friends.  For the entire month of June he was hurt, confused and angry. It  wasn’t until Narcissa wrote to Severus about Harry not writing to Draco t hat the problem surfaced and was resolved.

From then on, Harry  Flooed his friends, simply relieved that they  didn’t hate him as he believed. The question of who stole their letters or why they had been stolen was never resolved but among the adults a theory was batted back and forth.

They believed that Albus,  in order to further  instill some  sort of feeling of debt to him or insecurity in Harry, took the letters but it was impossible to prove without going directly to the Headmaster. And that was not an option.

Thankfully, the rest of the summer passed with little problem. Harry had no problems with using the  Floo as  he used it regularly to see Sarah. Their sessions were still going strong and he enjoyed seeing her. It was nice to have someone he could talk about his problems to, and not just talk, but also get help to figure out ways to deal with his issues.

It wasn’t just fun and games over the summer, however. The Hogwarts professors had set them all summer homework. Summer homework was a new concept to Harry, and he wasn’t entirely sure he liked it. 

He had no problem doing his work and he even enjoyed most of it but by his second essay on the Goblin Wars he had been ready to chuck all his books out the window or try to convince Hedwig to eat his papers.

After the odd start to the summer, things went smoothly most of the time. Harry spent his days reading and wandering around the countryside on long jaunts whenever the weather cleared up in between his long  Floo sessions with Draco, spending time with his friends and coming up with ridiculous ideas for things to do.

Severus had once found Harry and Draco playing  Gobstones together through the fire. The poor stones had grown increasingly annoyed all throughout the game when they squirted their foul slime at Draco, and it  didn’t affect him. Eventually the stones absolutely refused to be played with, spiting at anyone who dared near them, to Harry and Draco’s joy.

The other shock in the early summer months was when Harry had spoken to Steven, his snake, in front of Severus. When the hissed snake language had come out of Harry’s mouth, Severus had all but had a heart attack. His eyes had bugged out of his head and he had let out a strangled yelp that was very out of character for the stoic man.

Harry had been shocked to find out that not all wizards could talk to snakes, but it didn’t really bother him. It was just one more thing to add to his extensive list of ridiculously weird achievements.

His birthday, July 31, was the best on he had ever had. At the Dursley’s it had passed with no celebration and so he  hadn’t expected anything different at Severus ’. But he had woken up to a mouthwatering array of pastries and treats for breakfast and  proceeded to spend the day with his friends celebrating his  birthday.

Even Minerva and Poppy popped by for a brief visit, bringing a present from Professor Flitwick with them.

The day had passed unfortunately quickly. Harry had never had so much attention on him, which made his chest flutter with nerves somewhat, but it had also been the most fun he had on his birthday ever. Quite literally, ever. 

Harry could remember the second and last time his birthday had been mentioned at Privet Drive; Petunia had made a cake on his birthday with candles and he had hoped that it was for him, had even dared to ask if it was for his birthday. That hadn’t ended well. It turned out it was for Vernon, who had closed a very special deal with his drill company, Grunnings, and earned a promotion. 

Petunia had denied vehemently that the cake was not for Harry’s birthday, and that was the last time his birthday had been mentioned. He was six then.

But this time, he had cake, friends, gifts, and family. When night fell, Severus had brought out a large cake, big enough to feed twenty people, lit up with twelve candles that flickered in the dark like their own constellation.

Everyone had sung Happy Birthday to him and, surrounded by his friends and family, Harry had felt a happy warmth swell in him as he realized that he was cared for. Most people left late in the evening, Hermione’s parents and Harry’s professor’s being some of them. His friends slept over when it was considered too late for them to bother leaving.

Severus had retired to bed after summoning sleeping bags for them all, but the kids had stayed up well into the night, eating far too much cake than should be physically possible.

His birthday was just another bright memory in the sea of wonderful moments that was his summer. Harry was almost sad it was over, but he couldn’t deny that he was thrilled to go back to Hogwarts.

And so, where Harry’s summer ends, our story starts. Or rather, where it continues.


	2. Chapter One: An Unfortunate Trip

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I am on time *fist pump* whoo. Anyway, let's get to the chapter. Hope you enjoy! :)

Towards the end of Harry’s summer at Snape Manor, Draco stayed at the house with him for a week. Their daily routine didn’t change much from the norm really. The only difference was that instead of going home via Floo Draco slept in the guest room next to Harry’s, however, more often than not they ended up talking so late into the night that the two fell asleep in the same bed. 

For the last day of Draco’s stay they made plans to go to Diagon to get their school supplies and enjoy one last wander around the bustling wizarding streets. Harry and Draco’s list of supplies had both been sent to Snape Manor along with their exam results. Thankfully, they both passed all their exams. 

Draco, of course, was insufferable the whole time, brandishing his results around smugly while proclaiming that he didn’t expect anything else. Harry had kindly reminded him of the time he had bolted upright in bed with an unintelligible shriek because he had gotten a date wrong in his History of Magic exam. Of course, Draco did not appreciate Harry’s interjection. 

Nevertheless, it was decided that they would get everyone together and journey into Diagon Alley with Severus accompanying them. 

***** 

Severus stood in front of their grand fireplace and cast a stern eye over their rather large group. “There will be no foolishness on this trip,” he stated clearly. “No messing, no ridiculousness and you will all listen to me. Is that clear?” 

The kids grumbled noncommittally in response. Only Pansy and Blaise were with them, the other three kids were away in France and Italy. “Clear, Sev.” Harry promised as he clasped his cloak securely over his shoulders. Severus sighed and moved out of their way, allowing them access to the fireplace. He knew that was all he was getting out of them for the moment. 

One by one they stepped into the fireplace, shouting “Diagon Alley” precisely and clearly. Severus went first and then Pansy, Blaise and Draco disappeared after him with Harry going last. 

Harry stepped out of a large hearth into strong sunshine. He blinked against the sudden brightness, the dark spots that invaded his vision clearing to reveal the busy main street of Diagon Alley. Wizards and witches ambled around clad in wizarding robes of every colour under the sun, haggling over cauldron prices and questioning how fresh certain herbs and ingredients were. 

The scene never failed to bring a smile to Harry’s face. He bounded across the street to where his friends were. “Where are we going first?” He asked, excited to start shopping. 

“Gringotts,” Severus supplied as he brushed soot from his dark robes and hair. Outside of school his hair wasn’t as greasy as it usually was, not because he washed it more often, but because he didn’t hover over a potions cauldron as much as he did in Hogwarts. 

He hooked his long hair behind his ear, ignoring their groans of aggravation at the mention of Gringotts. Luckily the wizarding bank wasn’t far away. It gleamed at the end of the street, all polished marble and intimidating architecture, impossible to miss. 

No matter how many times he went in, Harry never quite got over the awed feeling he got whenever he entered Gringotts. The goblins didn’t scare him as much as they did the first time he was there but he still felt uncomfortable under their penetrating stares as their group walked through the lavish marble hall filled with wizards and witches alike. For absolutely no reason, he always felt guilty of committing some crime. 

“Hey, look,” Blaise nudged Harry’s elbow with his own, nodding toward a familiar head of bushy brown hair. Hermione and her parents leaned against one of the long marble counters chatting amicably with, to Harry’s surprise, another familiar family. The Weasley’s. 

Harry recognized Molly Weasley and assumed that the slightly balding man beside her was her husband, Arthur Weasley. He was talking excitedly with Hermione’s dad while Hermione spoke with the only girl in the group of boys, who could only be Ron’s sister. 

“Why in the name of Merlin’s saggy pants is she talking with the Weasel’s sister?” Draco huffed in disgust. 

“Don’t know but I’m sure we’ll find out in a second,” Harry muttered under his breath as Hermione waved excitedly at them and darted towards them through the crowd. She threw herself at Harry, pulling him into a hug with a squeal. 

Harry very wisely kept his mouth closed as he got a face full of hair, but he grinned and hugged her back tightly. “Fancy seeing you here.” Hermione pulled away, tucking her hair behind her ears as she smiled at them all. 

“Are you all here getting school supplies too?” She asked as she accepted a hug from Pansy. 

Harry nodded just as Draco pushed his way to the front of the group and interrupted any answer with a sharp glare at Hermione. “What are you doing with the Weasels?” 

Pansy rolled her eyes and shoved him to the side. “Oh shut up Draco. Mia you have no idea how delighted I am to see you. Finally, some good, female intelligence.” 

In the hustle and bustle of all the greetings, the Weasley’s and Hermione’s parents made their way over to the group unnoticed. “Hello!” Arthur exclaimed jovially to them all. He wore a patchy cloak and a slightly threadbare hat, but he beamed at them all and exuded a warm welcoming countenance. “Nice to meet you all, isn’t this nice.” 

Judging by Ron’s scowl as he hovered behind his brothers, no, it was not nice. Harry eyed the family warily with the same feelings. The last time they had all met hadn’t been nice at all and he didn’t particularly want to have another panic attack, in the middle of Gringotts no less. 

“Heya Harry!” Fred waved one hand lazily, the other stuffed in his pocket. “Have a good summer?” 

“We did.” George chimed. 

“Practiced Quidditch.” Fred added. 

“Better watch out-” 

“- We’ve gotten better.” Fred winked and George grinned mischievously which made Harry laugh and loosen up a bit. The twins were always friendly with him in school and they were always good for a laugh. Harry quite liked the Weasley twins. 

“I’m sure I’ll still be able to beat your arses on the pitch,” Harry joked. 

He looked up with a jump as a hand landed on his shoulder but relaxed when he saw it was just Severus returning from getting their money. His dark eyes scrutinized Harry’s carefully then flicked up to settle on the Weasley’s. A sneer curled at his thin lips when he said, “Molly. Arthur.” 

Arthur’s face grew stony and he stood straighter. “Severus,” He greeted curtly. Molly was having none of it. 

“Severus!” She bustled over to him and Harry. “Hello dear. Severus, it really is good to see you although I have to apologize for the last time we met. Honestly, what was Albus thinking?! Not telling us about poor Harry’s anxiety! I gave him a right earful about it too. Really, for such a great person that man can be silly at times.” 

“Oh, erm, thanks Mrs. Weasley,” Harry stammered. 

She clicked her tongue. “Please, call me Molly dear.” 

“Yes, well, your sincerity is...appreciated.” Severus squeezed Harry’s shoulder gently then let go and folded his arms. “We need to be going.” 

“Oh, of course, yes so do we. Our Ginny is starting Hogwarts this year so we’ve rather a lot to get done!” 

Harry glanced and waved at Ginny. She blushed beet red and averted her eyes quickly with a stifled squeak. Fred and George grinned at each other slyly as they sidled up to her side. “Well, well George, it looks like Gin-” 

“-has a little crush on our Harry, Fred!” Ginny blushed deeply but shoved her brothers off her shoulders and scurried away. Harry jumped when, for the second time that day, someone put their hand on his shoulder. 

Draco was standing behind him, his eyebrows furrowed in a scowl. “Come on, we’re leaving.” Behind him, Harry could see that their small group were making their way out of Gringotts. Draco scoffed as they hurried to catch up, Harry throwing a quick goodbye over his shoulder to Hermione who waved at him enthusiastically. 

“What?” Harry asked. Draco threw a withering glower at his best friend, merely rolling his eyes and ignoring the question as if Harry should have no doubts as to what was wrong. When they reached the others on the street, he pushed past Pansy to fall into step with Blaise. 

Harry was left bewildered at the back of the group. Sometimes he really didn’t understand Draco. He didn’t dwell on it for too long though. With a shake of his head, he let it drift to the back of his mind as they continued to go from shop to shop and completely forgot about it when they got to Flourish and Blotts where, what could only be called a commotion, was occurring. 

Outside the store a huge purple poster was propped up on a stand with a picture of a very blond, very smiley man in the middle. _Magical M_ _e_ , it read above his preening picture, _Meet_ _Gilderoy_ _Lockhart, famed wizard and author_. 

Harry had no idea who Gilderoy Lockhart was but it seemed others did. The shop was full to bursting with different wizards and witches, families and reporters. It was so full of people that the crowd spilled out onto the pavement and the constant movement of so many people made it look like the building itself was shifting and swaying. 

“He’s so handsome,” a witch sighed into Harry’s ear. 

“And intelligent,” another added. She stared at Harry with a dreamy haze to her eyes, twirling a piece of hair around her finger. 

Harry nodded and chuckled in nervous agreement before stepping closer to Draco and Blaise. “What is going on?” He hissed. Draco was still scowling but this time it was directed towards the poster instead of Harry. Blaise wore a frown too and stared at the twittering ladies with distaste. 

“Gilderoy Lockhart. He’s famous for his books but mainly for all the things he’s supposedly done. He writes about his adventures facing off Dark Creatures, banishing banshees, curing werewolves and things like that. Couple of household tricks and tips too. Everyone says that they like him cause of what he’s done but it’s because they find him attractive.” 

When Harry stared at him with a wry smile, Blaise hastened to raise his hands in protest. “Hey, no. My mother loves him. I think he’s a bit of a twat.” 

Harry looked back at the poster again. He supposed he could see how people could find him attractive. Lockhart did have nice hair, but his smile was fake - artificial. 

“Oh, not you too!” Draco groaned. Beside him, Pansy was fluffing her hair and fixing her clothes. 

Pansy refused to be shamed, even going so far as to pull out a compact mirror and lipstick from Merlin-knows where. She put on the blood red colour with fascinating ease and blew a kiss at Draco. 

“Enough,” Severus drawled. He glared at the noisy crowd, obviously uncomfortable. “This is ridiculous. How can anyone buy anything in this utter nonsense?” 

Luckily, their saving grace came in the form of a mother hen. 

“Oh, Severus I thought I heard you.” Molly Weasley popped her head out of the throng from inside the shop and beckoned them in. “Come in, we’re holding places for the boys, but I doubt they’ll come into this mess. I can look after the kids.” 

As loathe as he was to let Harry and his friends out of his sight, Severus hated the large, simpering crowd even more. That was how Harry found himself being jostled on all sides by chattering middle-aged witches in the middle of Flourish and Blotts. Draco and Blaise were suffering the same fate although Draco was not opposed to using his pointy elbows to get people out of his way. 

There was only so far they could go before they bumped into a horde of reporters. They crowded around a large writing desk that seemed to have replaced the check-out counter. Books were piled high around the desk and on it, large stacks tied together in neat bundles tied with string, big fat books that, on closer inspection, were the textbooks they would need for Hogwarts. 

A frazzled employee was desperately trying to protect them from being knocked over. 

“At least that’s sort of helpful I guess.” Harry nodded at the collections of books. 

Draco grimaced and dodged the flailing hand of a woman desperately smoothing down her hair. “It better get us out of here faster. We’ll never be able to buy our books if this continues. Father will be hearing about this.” 

All of a sudden, the reporters started yelling and camera bulbs started flashing when Gilderoy Lockhart himself strode out of a door behind the writing desk with a swoosh of his iridescent purple cape. He paused and posed with a glittering smile to the cameras. 

“Hello everyone!” he said towards the crowd. “Thank you all for coming and welcoming me for the release of my new autobiography Magical Me all about, well, me.” He chuckled. The women swooned. Harry grimaced. 

He swaggered like a peacock towards the desk and draped himself, legs crossed, over the throne-like chair behind it. “I would like to mention, nay thank, Witch Weekly for - Merlin's beard.” Lockhart cut himself off with a gasp. His blue eyes widened, and he sat up swiftly, gaze set firmly on the crowd. “Harry Potter...” 

As one the reporters spun around and began to take photos of Harry who squirmed uncomfortably under the sudden attention. Lockhart stood up, striding past them. Harry’s chest tightened as the crowd grew more agitated. They twittered and muttered as soon as the name left Gilderoy’s lips in a disbelieving breath. 

Lockhart’s smile threatened to break his wrinkle-free face. “I don’t believe it!” He announced with a delighted laugh. “Harry Potter!” Before Harry could shrink any further away from the overwhelming man, Lockhart grabbed his arm, pulling him away from his safe cocoon of friends and tugging him into a painful hug in front of the cameras. 

“Smile Harry. With both of us, our fame, we’re sure to make the front page.” 

The flashing lights blinded him. They flashed and popped, leaving burning imprints on his retinas and obscuring his view of his friends, who were attempting to shove through the reporters. He caught a glimpse of Molly’s infuriated expression. 

His chest was constricted, he felt ill and his hands began to tremble. 

Harry tried to breathe normally but his breaths came short and quick. 

Lockhart was either oblivious to Harry’s panicked state or didn’t acknowledge it. He grabbed Harry’s hand in a firm handshake, still beaming, constantly smiling. 

Just as Harry was about to stomp on Lockhart’s foot, reporters be damned, yelling accompanied by a surge of frantic movement at the entrance to the shop drew everyone’s attention. Lockhart dropped Harry’s hand and the arm that was holding him to Lockhart’s side dropped too, allowing him to dart away into the crowd past the distracted journalists. 

Draco grabbed his hands and ordered the others to start shoving through the crowd. “It’s okay, we’ll be out soon,” he promised. Harry nodded, still struggling to regulate his breathing. Pansy and Blaise were cutting through the crowd like a hot knife through butter – effortlessly and painfully for others. They reached the entrance quickly where it became apparent why people got distracted. 

“Arthur!” Molly Weasley stood over the disheveled form of her husband who lay on the ground. A red, swollen bruise was beginning to form around his eye and he was surrounded by rumpled books. Beside him, a bookcase was collapsed, and a well-tailored suit clad leg was poking out from under it. 

Hagrid stood by the door with his arms crossed. He looked unusually stern. “Had to break up a fight Molly, sorry bout tha.” 

Arthur cowered under her glare. “Would’ve thought yeh knew better than to pick a fight with Malfoy of all people Arthur,” Hagrid said reproachfully. 

“Father?!” 

Draco rushed over to the collapsed bookshelf with a screech. Hair frizzy, eyes dazed and glazed over, Lucius Malfoy sat up shakily, books sliding off him as he did. He quickly came to his senses and clambered to his feet. “You,” he said, voice shaking in anger, pointing his intricately carved cane at a still collapsed Arthur like a cartoon villain, “will regret this Weasley, filthy blood traitor.” 

With a final glare at Hagrid and the entire Weasley family, Lucius swept out of the bookshop. Harry was incredibly confused. The Lucius he knew and had spent time with was a bit snooty, sure, uppity, yes, and still a smidge blood purist, but after the war the Malfoy’s had been quick to reign in the unpopular, traditionalist opinions that still plagued some of the Pureblood society. 

But he wasn’t as angry, violent and discriminatory as the Lucius that had just appeared and disappeared in the blink of an eye. This Lucius left harry feeling unsettled, confused and a bit angry. 

Unfortunately, the tension in the shop didn’t leave with Lucius. Draco bristled with fury and barely stopped himself from lunging at Ron in revenge. 

The tentative, reluctant peace that had settled over them in Gringotts was indisputably broken and Harry found himself standing beside Draco, Pansy and Blaise facing off against Ron and Ginny, who was holding her book-filled cauldron like a shield. “You’ll pay for this Weasel,” Draco spat. 

“Careful Malfoy, you might actually have to fight for once.” 

“Like you did at the duel, coward?” 

“ENOUGH!” Hagrid put himself, with no little difficulty, between the students. “This is ridiculous, yeh’re all in the same year and I thought yeh were fine after Ron helped with Norbert!” 

A bright flash of light reminded them where they all were i.e a public space filled with many people and reporters bound to capture every word and action of their little spat. After a profuse apology to Draco and Harry that did nothing to appease the angry little blond, Molly ushered her family out of the shop, telling Hagrid to make sure the Slytherins were looked after until they met with Severus. 

Right before she disappeared into the street, Harry saw her swatting at the back of Ron’s head with a sharp glare. 

“Er, I have an announcement!” Gilderoy could be heard yelling over the crowd, desperate to turn the attention back onto him. “I shall be Hogwart’s new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher! Yes, Albus asked me personally! Hello? Everyone!” 

Eventually, the attention did turn back to Lockhart but luckily Harry, Draco, Blaise and Pansy were anle to avoid any further trouble. 

“That little git is going to get what’s coming to him,” Draco seethed when they spilled out onto the street after finally buying their books, rejoining Pansy and Harry who had waited outside to avoid a full-blown panic. A store employee was still trying to put the bookshelf back to rights. 

Blaise squinted in the sunlight, attempting to find Severus, and rolled his eyes. “Yes, it’s a dire slight against your family honour but I think we have something more important to worry about. That utter fool is going to be our new professor.” 

“Well I for one am not opposed to having a good-looking professor for once!” Pansy snapped. “Quirrell was a monstrosity,” she shuddered, “although Lockhart does seem as dim as a Squib’s lumos.” 

Harry had to agree. From what he’d experienced, he really couldn’t see the man who had defeated hundreds of Dark Creatures on adventures as the same one in Flourish and Blott’s. Don’t judge a book by its cover, yes, but he was skeptical of the man’s teaching abilities. 

Severus was spotted and they quickly headed over to him, recounting the whole debacle in a series of shouted sentences and arguments. “Quiet!” He glared and pinched the bridge of his nose. “What happened? _One at a time_.” 

The story was explained eventually. It helped that every interruption was quelled with Snape’s patented Teacher Glare, sure to stop even the most fool-hardy student in their tracks. A quick glance over Harry to make sure he was okay, which he was although the fight certainly hadn’t helped things, and to many people’s relief the eventful trip was swiftly finished with a visit to Madam Malkins and Florean Fortescue’s Ice-Cream Parlour. 

*** 

The odd and jam-packed Diagon Alley adventure only seemed to be the start of a series of strange events. It was quite exhausting. The universe couldn’t have waited till at least halfway through the school year to start the weird shenanigans? 

Late at night, a few days before Harry was due to start Hogwarts, he was woken by a sharp crack, like that of a dry branch snapping under a crushing weight. Startled, he jerked upwards and a series of mumbled nonsense came out of his mouth. Followed by a sharp scream. 

At the end of his bed stood some sort of....creature. No more than 3 feet tall, it had had pale green eyes the size of golfballs set in a small, wrinkled, pale face. Large, droopy ears flopped down by his head and it shuffled slightly, cowering a bit. 

“What?” Harry’s sleep-addled brain couldn’t comprehend anything that was happening. The thing raised its hands pleadingly. 

“Dobby didn’t mean to scare Harry Potter! Never scare Harry Potter!” 

Its voice was high and squeaky, filled with apology and worry. Harry sat up warily. “Who, who are you?” 

“I am Dobby, sir, Dobby the house-elf.” Dobby bowed, its long nose brushing the carpet. It was then that Harry realised he was wearing nothing but a grubby cloth as a toga. “Dobby came to tell Harry Potter; he must _not return to Hogwarts.”_

Harry stared at him, bewildered. “What do you mean? Hogwarts is my home. It’s where all my friends are.” He half chuckled in slight disbelief and amusement. Dobby shook his head violently. His ears slapped his face painfully. 

“Harry Potter must not return to Hogwarts. There are dangerous things happening, bad things.” His voice dropped to a whisper. “Bad things.” 

“What do you mean? Hogwarts isn't dangerous, well, I mean not anymore, the Stone is gone so nothing dangerous there anymore. Dobby? What do you mean? Why -” 

The bedroom door burst open and Severus barreled in, wand aloft and ready to fight the intruder. Dobby jumped and snapped his fingers, disappearing with another crack, just as Severus yelled, “Petrificus Totalus.” 

Dobby was gone before the spell could hit him. Severus stared at Harry, panting heavily and clad in only his pajamas, barefoot. “What in Morgana’s name happened? Are you ok?” 

To be quite honest, Harry wasn’t entirely sure. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow guys, it was really nice to see people back for the last chapter, saw some familiar faces in the comments there! Familiar usernames??   
> So thanks for coming back everyone, and hello newcomers if there are any.  
> Hope you enjoyed this chapter, thanks for reading and I'll see you all next Tuesday 😊


	3. Chapter Three: A flying car and a tree of death make for an excellent trip.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! Nice to see you all again and apologies for the lack of an update last week haha. Hope you enjoy!

King’s Cross Station was packed with muggles. All sorts of muggles – businessmen, businesswomen, families, couples, solos. Harry had never seen so many muggles in one place. It was almost intimidating, but every so often a pointed hat peeked out from the crowd, and he noticed trollies with standard trunks being wheeled by, the occasional owl shrieking in its cage on top of them.

Hedwig eyed the noisy owls in disdain, herself being perfectly quiet and respectable of course. She fluffed her wings and hooted demurely as if to show them how a proper owl should act in public. Steven was also present, draped around Harry’s shoulders like an elegant scarf. Although if anyone mentioned that he tended to get annoyed and huffy. He was  _ not  _ a scarf thank you very much.

In any other situation, Harry would have had side-ways glances thrown at him in a not so discrete manner. There was something about September first though. It was as if all the muggles collectively decided not to notice anything odd or out of place. An unspoken pact, almost.

That was lucky for wizards. But it seemed as if such a massive gathering of the magical community had the exact opposite effect of drawing attention. It repelled attention. No one wanted to notice the weird, almost magical happenings, because magic just isn’t real, everyone knows that, don’t be silly.

Harry trundled his trunk through the dense crowd of commuters. Last year, he hadn’t been able to travel on the Hogwarts Express either to or from Hogwarts. This year he was adamant to do so. He just wanted to have a fun train ride with his friends.

And so, on the first of September, like any other normal Hogwarts student, he was at King’s Cross with his ticket and trunk, heading towards Platform Nine and Three – Quarters. Severus trailed behind him, watching carefully. He wasn’t going to take the train, Merlin no, but he wanted to make certain that Harry made it onto the train.

Knowing Harry, he would somehow end up fighting the Trolley Lady with knife hands on top of it or something preposterous like that.

A familiar pod of red hair bobbed towards the wall in front of them, towering above the short crowd like stunted giraffes amongst humans. Harry sighed heavily. “Why are they everywhere?”

“They’re destined to annoy and frustrate you, that is their sole purpose Potter.” 

“Okay, that really wasn’t needed.” Despite his grumbling, Harry grinned when the twins caught sight of him and waved dramatically. Ronald, as usual, was not happy to see him but for Harry the feeling was mutual. 

Mrs. Weasley beamed at the unlikely pair. “Severus, Harry, how good to see you. You’re looking a bit peaky dear,” she said towards Harry. Behind her lurked Percy, Ron and Ginny who refused to look Harry in the eye, her face as red as a chili  flavoured Bertie Bott’s Every  Flavour Bean. “Well, since we’re here, Severus I was wondering if I might talk to you about something. I would have sent an owl, but poor Errol has been worn down lately. Arthur is already on the platform waiting for the children. ”

“If you must,” Severus sneered. 

“Excellent. Ginny dear, you go through the gate with Percy, then I’ll go through with Professor Snape, Fred and George – er George and Fred – well, oh never mind, you two go after Ron and Harry to make sure they get through okay.”

Percy clasped Ginny’s shoulder and grabbed hold of their trolley. She stared pale-faced at the wall. “Don’t worry, the chances of getting stuck are very low. High, technically, in comparison to other doors but relatively low,” Percy declared matter-of-factly. 

For some reason, she didn’t seem reassured. They ran toward the dividing wall, Ginny’s face screwed up in anxious anticipation, and then disappeared into the brick. Harry gaped at it in shock. He had been told of how to get to the platform of course, but seeing it was a whole other matter.

Severus fixed his robes and started towards the wall, muttering “I shall see you in a minute,” to Harry before striding into the wall beside Molly. Harry was still dumbstruck. It was really, really lucky for wizards that Muggles ignored them. Walking into a wall would certainly raise some questions if screeching owls, robes and pointy hats didn’t.

_ Close your mouth, you’ll catch flies or something  _ Steven hissed, his tongue flicking out in what could only be interpreted as exasperation. Ron jumped back with a yelp and stared in horror at the snake lying around Harry’s neck. “Why in the bloody hell do you have a snake?!” His eyes were wide with fright, fixated on Steven.

“This is Steven,” Harry explained as he scratched Steven’s head gently, “He’s my pet. I got him as a gift.” The the twins crowded around with cries of “wicked” as Ron shook his head and backed away, face green. Steven writhed with glee under the attention. 

“He says he knows he’s wicked.”

Fred looked up at Harry sharply. “You can talk to snakes?” 

Harry nodded warily. He knew it was a rare ability, but Fred seemed almost fretful, his joking face unnervingly serious. “I wouldn’t go around telling a lot of people that mate,” George said with an equally serious expression. “People are superstitious, they’ll start thinking you’re the next Salazar or something and start a cult against you.”

At Harry’s stricken look, George hastily reassured him with a wide grin, “Don’t worry! We think it’s pretty cool, we’ll make a cult  _ for _ you. Merlin’s saggy pants, FRED.” He swung around to his brother. A familiar gleam twinkled mischievously in his eyes. “We could make a snake army.”

Fred gasped and perked up with a wink at Harry. “That’s a brilliant idea. With Salazar’s help here, it would be one hell of a prank.” The two Weasley’s put their heads together and began to mutter to each other, gesturing excitedly as they tried to figure out how to pull off such a prank.

“Can we stop now?” Ron interrupted, scowling. “We’ll miss the train at this rate.” 

Fred rolled his eyes but grabbed a trolley obligingly. “Alright little Ronniekins, let’s go then. You go with George; I’ll go with Snake Lord.” Ron and George swung their trolleys around, and aimed for the wall, running to gather speed. 

With cries of pain, they crashed into solid brick.

Gangly limbs tangled together as they collided with the solid wall, trolleys careening to the ground and trunks popping open with a loud clatter. Several passing muggles sent nasty glances their  way, but they had bigger things to be w orried about than miffed Muggles. 

Ron clambered off the ground, wriggling out from under the mess of trolleys and a groaning George, and pounded at the wall. “Why isn’t it open?!”  Fred and Harry rushed over to bang at the wall but unsurprisingly that didn’t work. “Open!”  Ron yelled in frustration. He kicked the wall and  immediately regretted it as a sharp pain went shooting through his toes.

Harry stepped back, pinching the bridge of his nose, and tried to think of  how to get onto the platform. In the background, Ron was hopping around clutching his foot and muttering curses. “It’s too late.”

They all turned to look at George who gestured towards the clock with a lost expression. “The train’s gone.”

“Guys, if we can’t get through...that probably means that Mum and Dad can’t get through either,” Ron  said. He looked pale and stricken, and Harry had to say he wasn’t alone. The thought of not being able to get to Hogwarts, being s tuck in the Muggle world without Severus and without money or resources...it wasn’t pleasant.

“Okay, we need to brainstorm then. First, we need to stand somewhere else, we’re getting too many looks.” It was true , the Muggles were starting to stare at the ragtag bunch and Harry knew that they probably looked like misfits ready to make trouble. He grabbed his t rolley and tugged it over to a corner of the platform. 

The others grabbed their stuff, following his lead, and in a few short moments they were all huddled in a small group, sitting on the ground.  Despite the twins being older, the three Weasleys looked expectantly towards Harry. “What, why are you looking at me?”

“ You’re the one who said to brainstorm,” Ron snapped. “So go ahead, brainstorm.”

Harry cleared his throat. “Right, yeah, sure. Okay, so if we can’t get through, Severus and Mrs. Weasley can’t get back. Is there any other way to get on or off the platform?”

“Well, sometimes people  Floo onto the platform, but we can’t do that. No fireplace or  Floo powder,” Fred grumbled. Hedwig hooted from her cage and Harry absent-mindedly scratched her fluffy head. She nipped at his fingers irritably. “Okay, so we can’t  Floo .  We have no idea how long the gate will be closed and once people find out it’s closed, they’ll most likely  Floo home instead, and no one is going to  Floo from the platform to in here, that just wouldn ’t make sense, why go here when you can just go straight home.”

“ So we’re stuck here,” Ron said  gloomily, and the words hung in the air uncomfortably. They sat in  awkward silence as the  implications of their situation began to set in. The first stirrings of panic creeped into Harry’s  chest but he was determined to find some solution to the problem.

Hedwig hooted again, insistently this time. “Oh for- I'm an idiot. We can send a letter! There’s no way it will be fast enough to get to Hogwarts  in time for the Feast though,” Harry frowned. He pulled out some parchment and ink from his trunk anyway and leaned on it so he could write. 

“That’s it?” Ron asked, arms flailing in indignation. “We just wait  here? There  has to be a better way out! This wouldn’t have happened if we hadn’t needed to go back for those stupid fireworks!” 

“Hey, we had to go back for Gin’s diary too,” the twins argued but Ron ignored them. “We should just take the car and leave for Merlin’s sake,” he continued. 

“Great idea,” Harry interrupted, “yeah, let’s just drive to Hogwarts, that’ll work!”

“Well, at least I’m coming up with something more helpful than a stupid letter! If you weren’t  here then we wouldn’t have to deal with this! We would’ve been on the train already!”

“Then leave, go on! Get in your bloody amazing car and drive to Hogwarts, go ahead!” 

“Yeah cause when people hear I’ve  left Harry fuckin g Potter in a Muggle station, thing’s will be so great . I can’t leave you stranded here,  you git! There has to be a better bloody plan.”

“Well I don’t have one, but if you want to actually help instead of just whining then be my guest!” Harry snapped. The ink splotched on the parchment and he growled in frustration. At this stage, they were glaring daggers at each other and yelling. People hurried past them quickly, trying to avoid the growing cloud of anger and frustration that surrounded the  two boys .

“ Of course, George why didn’t I think of that?” Fred said with a grin , breaking the tension slightly . “Because I’m the best , Fred.” George boasted. They  turned to the warring  boys with identical impish grins. In unison they announced one simple plan. “The car.”

“We’ve just been through this; we can’t drive to Hogwarts!” Harry’s tether was hanging on by a thread and he was going to physically maim someone i f this kept up.

“Who said anything about driving?”

****

“This is a terrible plan. This is ridiculous.”

“ Oh calm down Harry, this will go down in history books forever !” Fred whooped as they climbed into the blue Ford Anglia that belonged to Arthur Weasley. Harry was not reassured by his words.  The doors all slammed closed of their own accord and Harry started sweating nervously. 

“That shouldn’t be the reason we’re doing this!” He proclaimed. Ronald rolled his eyes  and slouched down in the seat beside him. They were stuck together; Fred and George haven claimed the front seats on the basis that the oldest should drive. “ Look, did you want to stay in King’s Cross for hours, no food, just sitting there until someone showed up?” Ron asked in a waspish tone.

Alright, that was it. 

Harry turned to face him abruptly and glared at the irritating red head. “Listen, I don’t like  you, you don’t like me, fair enough, I can be very bloody happy with that. But we are going to be stuck in a flying car for hours, and if I need to listen to you whining and deal with this l ittle rivalry shit the whole time, then someone will have lost their head by the time we get to Hogwarts and it won't be me. So, truce?”

Ron looked like he really didn’t want to, but he shook Harry’s offered hand, begrudgingly and that was the start of a wonderful  friendship. No, but it was the start of a tolerable journey in a flying car.

Fred started up the engine and they trundled off, pulling out of the station car park haltingly. “Sorry!” He called ove r his shoulder cheerfully. “I haven’t driven before!” They drove to a little deserted alleyway, which Harry had insisted on but was a little difficult to find in central London, and George pressed a little button on the dashboard. The Invisibility Booster.

The car took off shakily as the booster spluttered on . They aimed towards the clouds, hoping for a little bit of cover and Harry was never as appreciative of gloomy British weather as he was in that mo ment. An alarming sound rasped in the cold air as the booster faltered.

“Shit! The booster!” George hit the button frantically and it  stuttered back on. The boys breathed a sigh of relief. Thankfully, they were soon engulfed in the  thick clouds , safely hidden from any Muggles who happened to glance upwards.

Above the clouds the sun shone cheerily, and welcome warmth flooded the car. “You don’t think anyone saw us , do you?” Harry asked anxiously. Fred waved his hand reassuringly. “It only went off for a few seconds, there’s a small chance someo ne saw us.”

Harry relaxed back into his seat. The  remaining tension that had hung around from the argument in the station melted away in the sunshine and it was almost even pleasant. They dipped below the clouds to find the train and once they did, they dipped below every so often to keep track of it. At  one stage they had gone too fast and flew a little too low and almost got hit by the train. The laughter they experienced then was almost deadly , and Harry still had a stitch half an hour after.

Some fudge was found in the glovebox and they shared it around. Harry took one bite and fell in love. “This is amazing,” he  declared in awe. Ron laughed good-naturedly. “Mum makes the best fudge.” Harry gaped at him in disbelief and glanced between him and the fudge back and forth. “ Your mum made th is?! Wow.”

Fred and George began discussing the Snake Plot in earnest, figuring out plans to flood the school strategically with snakes. “ Alright, Harry this is sensitive information. You’re only allowed hear our  brilliant prank plan because we need you  for this to work.”

“And you wouldn’t rat us out anyway,” Fred added with a smile.  George nodded sagely. “So we get the snakes, I’m  thinking some sort of attraction charm-” the twins mutter amongst themselves for a moment- “ yeah, that could work, the library should have something, and that’s where you come in Salazar.”

Ron snorted but quickly cleared his throat as the others  turned to him. “You need to talk to the danger noodles, get them on board with the plan.”

“And what is the plan?” Harry asked, eyebrow raised, and wary. Fred rubbed his hands together with a gleeful chuckle. “Flood the school with snakes. I’m thinking release them in the Gre at Hall, conceal them somehow, bring them in, flood the room with them and then reveal them.”

“ Or, ” George interrupted excitedly, “put them in classrooms, hide them in common r ooms, drape them over banisters. Fill Hogwarts to the brim with snakes.”

“You could put some sort of Anti-Vanishing Charm on them so that they can’t just be easily gotten rid of,” Ron offered some input. “I don’t know, just an idea,” he muttered. Fred snapped his fingers and pointed at George. “Write that down.”

The journey was going well but after a time , the sunshine became too hot and sticky, the delicious aftertaste of fudge became rancid and a n overwhelming thirst took over. There was suddenly no space in the car and neither Harry  nor Ron could stand each other. When the sun set and the dark took over, it became too cold and the four were left  shivering. The bickering was never-ending  and eventually even Fred snapped.

“Shut up I can’t take the sniping anymore! Not even Percy is this bad all the time FOR MERLIN’S SAGGY PANTS!” Everyone fell silent . Then, to their relief, the dark shape of Hogwarts with its hundreds of twinkling windows appeared in the distance before them. The thought  of warmth, friends and food perked all the boys up. Hogwarts couldn’t arrive faster.

The car faltered.

Harry’s hands shot out to grab the door handle when it shook and dropped down before regaining its height. “Er...is that supposed to happen?” A shriek ripped from his throat when it dropped another heart-stopping  few feet. “I’m going to guess that it’s not!”

“Come on, you can do this,” Fred told the car in an encouraging tone tinged with intense  fear. The car didn’t listen. With one last, desperate groan the engine cut out and in deafening silence,  they began to fall. 

The ground came towards them at an alarming speed and a cacophony of screams filled the air. Ron lurched over the seat and began to hit the  steering wheel with his wand. “Up! Up! Up!” He screamed. For once, hitting the broken object seemed to work! The engine revived itself for one last fight and they surged upwards before it cut out for good and they  crashed painfully into a large tree.

For a moment, there was shocked silence. “G-good thing this tree was here eh?” Ron stammered with a  weak laugh. That was when the tree attacked.

“WHY THE BLOODY HELL IS THE TREE ALIVE?!” he screamed. Fred scr ambled into the back seat to avoid being crushed to death by a branch the size of a troll’s club. From all sides, the tree attacked, bashing in the doors angrily , shaking the car from side to side. Shattered glass sprinkled over them as a branch broke through the windshield.

One last bash was all it needed to shove the broken car out of the tree, and they landed on the ground with a heavy thump. “Is it over now?” Ron asked shakily after a moments silence. Without warnin g, the doors slammed open and the seats jumped as if an electric pulse was shot through them and the boys were thrown out of the car.

Their trunks were violently ejected too and went flying all over the dark grounds, popping open and throwing clothes and books everywhere. Headlights shining brightly, the car closed its doors and promptly trundled off towards the Forest.

“Steven!” Harry yelled, dropping to the ground to try find where h is snake had been thrown. Tears shone in his eyes as he scrambled around desperately. He gasped  in relief as Steven hurriedly slithered up Harry and into his pocket.

_ Let’s never do that again,  _ he hissed.

Harry agreed whole-heartedly. All four seemed to agree. Covered in scrapes, cuts and bruises, they stared at each other in shocked silence. Fred was cradling his arm carefully to his chest ; Harry’s face was scra tched and bloody, one large cut trailing blood down his arm and his glasses were  cracked; George was limping and his leg was bleeding profusely while Ron was holding a broken wand, covered in scrapes and bruises, looking dazed and confused.

Ron opened his mouth, and the twins threw themselves onto him with cries of “NO ” , even Fred heedless of his arm .  George covered his mouth as  Fred pinned him to the ground. “Don’t say anything,” George hissed. “Every time you s peak something bad happens. Shut up.”

“HARRY JAMES POTTE R!” 

All four heads swiveled to see the one sight sure to strike fear in any student at Hogwarts .  Equally furious, Minerva McGonagall and Severus Snape were striding across the grounds and gaining speed with every second.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OOooo scary McGonagall and Snape.   
> So, sorry for last week, my mental health has been shitty lately. My depression was bad and I've just officially started college for the first time ever! I hope you all understand, and thank you if you do or if you can sort of get that life gets in the way. I'm feeling sort of better, but I'm still rough.   
> And i mean, come on it's me guys XD I can't stick to an upload schedule if my life depended on it! XD  
> Thank you for reading and see y'all next week!

**Author's Note:**

> Hello again. First, thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy our little journey we're embarking on.  
> So I have had months to work on this and I have worked on it-shock, I know-therefore there will be weekly updates. Every Tuesday, this fic will be updated. I hope to aim for long chapters with no last-minute writing this time but life is life and will get in the way whether I want it to or not haha.  
> I am starting college next week (agh) but I vow to not let weeks and weeks pass between updates this time around. Basically, in summary, I have things planned out a bit better than my last fic in this series haha.  
> Again, thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed!


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